Funding deadline for resilience planning lifted for Scottish farming business owners

Following the piloting of resilience planning specialist advice and the positive feedback this has received from the industry, Scottish Government have decided to extend this support to farmers and crofters and to make this an ongoing element of the Farm Advisory Service. This means that Scottish farming owners can now seek to apply for funding support beyond March 2020, to improve business performance and strengthen business capacity to cope with market change.

Through the Farm Advisory Service (FAS), applicants can access up to £1,000 worth of funding to enlist the help of an expert to undertake a thorough review of their business and develop a practical, step-by-step, resilience action plan to address challenges. (Applicants are not required to have completed a prior ILMP to qualify for support.)

The adviser will work with the participating business to:

• Establish key performance indicators for financial resilience and analyse enterprise exposure
• Assess profitability and cash flow
• Review the ‘health’ of the balance sheet
• Identify appropriate resilience measures and actions
• Develop a practical implementation plan for the business

Scottish farming businesses are operating at a time of unprecedented change. Factors such as such as Brexit, climate change, changing social trends and market fluctuations make it challenging for any business to maintain and safeguard profitability. Strengthening business resilience is key to successfully navigating change.

To apply for business resilience support, visit our specialist advice pages.

To receive a hardcopy application pack, contact FAS by calling 0300 323 0161 or emailing advice@fas.scot